Effective startups. Interesting startups from different parts of the world. Opportunities with minimal investment

The best startups in Russia include:

A popular online training service that helps everyone who wants to master English language or increase the existing level. Now more than 14 million people around the world use it. Each new “student” can take a test and choose the level they need, receive a set of exercises and educational materials for mastering it. The application allows you to train your understanding of not only written speech, but also its listening comprehension. Training materials are provided in both audio and video formats.

This is an educational platform with game elements that provides the opportunity to learn linguistic skills from native speakers.

The animated lion mascot gave the service its name - Leo. The idea to use this particular character, lost in the jungle of knowledge, came to the developers on the exotic island of Koh Chang, where the founder and a team of programmers worked for about six months to create a new service. Five years later, the founder, Ainur Abdulnasyrov, entered the top hundred Russian millionaires.

Google included LinguaLeo in its list of the best Android apps in 2015.

LinguaLeo - learning English can be fun

Doctor at work

The virtual community of professional doctors is a startup by Andrey Perfilyev and Stanislav Sazhin, which appeared in 2009. They created a space that most closely resembles a closed club, within which people of the same specialty can exchange experiences, get the necessary information, ask colleagues questions, and find a job.

Gradually, with growing popularity, the network expanded significantly. Now both medical students and pharmacists can use it. They, like doctors, got the opportunity not only to communicate, but also to improve their skills for free.

Half of all medical workers in Russia, with higher education, are its registered users. In terms of participant activity, Doctor at Work ranks first in the world. For several years in a row, the project has occupied more and more honorable places in the ranking of the best startups in Russia - Russian Startup Rating.

Most doctors in Russia use their own social network “Doctor at Work”
MoneyMan comes to the rescue very quickly when it comes to micro-loans

Who hasn't dreamed of a flash drive with unlimited capacity? Alexey Churkin, founder of the Flashsafe startup, was able to solve this problem. It was he who came up with the idea of ​​a “dimensionless” drive - a flash card connected to a cloud file storage system. Through special electronic devices, information is placed in storage and is located there absolutely anonymously, without being tied to a specific user. This makes it possible to obtain the necessary files without necessarily using passwords or keys. Such a device cannot be hacked; it guarantees complete security and confidentiality of information.

Alexey raised it with his own funds and grants, successfully presented his project in Skolkovo, after which 1.5 million rubles were collected in pre-orders. Gradually, investors were found, and the project repeatedly appeared on crowdfunding platforms. On August 30, 2016, sales of the “endless” drive started.

Flashsafe combines flash drive and infinity

The fastest startup, which became the best startup project in just a few days, is among the best startups of 2016 in Russia. The creators were forced to artificially restrain the powerful growth in the popularity of the project. - a mobile application that appeared quite recently, in the summer of 2016, and allows the user to turn any photo into an image made in the style famous artists. It became possible to turn an ordinary frame into a work of art in just a couple of seconds and clicks. His success was simply dizzying. In 10 days, the new photo editor became the most downloaded product.

Investors valued the entire project at more than $10 million. The founder of the service, Alexey Moiseenkov, has become no less popular than his brainchild and tries “not to give more than one interview a day.” In them, he says that about two months were spent working on the mega-popular application and the investments were made “within the framework of salaries.” Now Mail.ru has already become an investor in Prisma, which allows us to evaluate the success and prospects of the project.

With Prisma, anyone can become a great artist

MULTICUBE

A Russian project that won the Startup Village competition in the summer of 2016. The startup ran a successful crowdfunding campaign on the Indiegogo platform and successfully presented itself at the TechCrunch Disrupt conference in New York in 2016. Mikhail Bukhovtsev is the founder and CEO of Multikubik.

The project is an interesting technical novelty for the youngest users. We are talking about mini-projectors in the shape of a cube, with cartoons and filmstrips inside. You can project an image onto any flat surface. The creators claim that this is a “healthier” alternative to a child watching entertainment content on a tablet, the best option for quality family leisure.

Participant of the Skolkovo and API Moscow platforms. More than $105 thousand was raised to launch sales. Currently, the company's management is planning to develop a premium version of the projector; a more budget version will be launched into production very soon.

Multicube - a classic in new packaging

This is a list. Some of them are already known abroad, have found investors there and are planning to enter the international market. What can we say about the current situation in this area on a global scale? What are the best startups in the world?

10 best startups in the world

The best startup projects around the world include:

Slack

A popular corporate messenger that appeared in 2013. It provides very great opportunities for online teamwork; it is especially suitable for small and medium-sized companies. Slack makes official email correspondence between employees and complex internal document flow unnecessary. This service was ideal for communication between employees at work, but it also made it possible to create communities of interest, business or leisure. That is why another opportunity to use Slack is to search for the right specialists; HR workers actively use this.

The fastest growing business application in history, now valued at nearly $3 billion.

The application was created by Cambridge Philosophy graduate Stuart Butterfield. Over seven rounds of investment, his startup was able to raise about $350 million and become one of the best such projects in the world. It is especially popular in the USA and European countries. On the first day of testing, more than 8 thousand organizations registered in the Slack system.

More than a million users have already appreciated the benefits of Slack

Uber

One of the most famous and scandalous startups in the world, which indignant competitors regularly try to catch up with and are desperately trying to somehow cope with its expansion. At the same time, the project is very successful; investors value it at $64 billion.

The idea of ​​linking a taxi order to a mobile application turned out to be simply golden. It belongs to Travis Kalanick and Garrett Camp. The idea was born to one of the founders in Paris, when he could not get a taxi.

Having appeared in 2009, Uber brought huge profits to its creators. The world's leading venture financiers fought for the right to invest money in the service. This is understandable, since the company’s daily revenue now amounts to several million.

Now mobile taxis under this brand operate in more than 80 cities around the world, the number of trips using Uber in America has grown by 250%. The company continues to actively explore the global market and expand.

Uber is one of the best startups in the world in recent years

Zenefits was founded in 2013 by entrepreneur Parker Conrad, who until recently served as its CEO. Over the course of a year, the project went from an unknown startup to a dynamically developing business. It took him less than two years to become a company with a capitalization of more than $1 billion. Zenefits boasts some of Silicon Valley's biggest names (like Andreessen Horowitz) and is valued at $4.5 billion.

The project offers innovative software for HR departments of enterprises, which significantly simplifies personnel management and document management in companies. The service allows you to automatically calculate employee salaries, calculate benefits, bonuses, labor productivity factors, and determine vacation dates.

In February 2016, Zenefits changed its director, David Sachs, who took emergency measures to maintain the high assessment of the project by investors. Despite the fact that the company is now experiencing some difficulties, the number of its clients still numbers 20 thousand people.

Zenefits - a fundamentally new approach to work in the field of personnel management

Porch

One of the best startups in the world, which appeared in Seattle in 2013. The project was created to connect professionals who can perform home or appliance repair work with people who need their services. A user-friendly interface and ordering system allows you to find the right specialist very quickly, which was immediately appreciated by numerous Porch users. During its existence, the company managed to raise $99 million in 3 rounds of financing.

Porch is:

• 3 million professionals with work experience and reviews
• 140 million completed transactions
• over $100 million in venture capital

The company gives all clients a guarantee of $1000 if the quality of the work performed does not satisfy the customer.

The founders of Porch claim that their business continues to grow and develop, has excellent prospects and big plans for the future.

Porch - repairs are best left to professionals

A new type of social Internet service founded by Ben Silberman in 2008. With its help, each user can create their own unique virtual “boards” on which they collect and store images grouped by various topics. Very quickly, Pinterest became a worldwide catalog of ideas and inspiration for a very large global audience. creative people and ordinary users. The project is especially popular among women. For example, brides looking for a wedding style or young mothers organizing photo shoots for their babies. Of course, all specialists in the artistic field also appreciated it.

It took this startup less than a year to attract its first 10 thousand users. Zilberman says that he personally drafted and sent invitation letters to the first 5 thousand. This figure now represents 70 million per month in the US and 150 million worldwide. The project has now surpassed Twitter in terms of audience size. Financially, it is also very prosperous, having attracted $1.3 billion in investments since its founding.

Pinterest - beautiful photos can't be too much

An incredibly successful online service offering mattresses and other sleep accessories. A practical and serious approach to even the most ordinary household items, it turns out, can bring creators both money and fame. The manufacturer and seller of unusual sleep accessories was able to attract the attention of buyers and investors, the latter valuing the project at $550 million.

The authors of this startup approached the matter with scientific approach and organized a real laboratory in which the parameters and characteristics of an ideal mattress were experimentally established. Now they sell only one type of it, but in different sizes.

Pleasant bonuses that successfully complement the high quality of Casper:

• Fast shipping
• compact packaging
• possibility of testing and returning goods

At the same time, the cost of a standard size mattress starts at $500, but the company provides a 10-year guarantee on it. The project successfully withstands competition, although the price of their goods is approximately twice as high as the average.

This startup relied on comfort

It turns out that startups also exist in the field of space technology. One of the most successful projects in this area belongs to to CEO Tesla to Elon Musk, who decided to create the first private transport company for space cargo transportation. In particular, the creator saw the immediate goal of delivering cargo to Mars during its colonization. The project turned out to be successful and now the company is a real space concern.

The first steps in implementing this grandiose plan began in 2002, and 8 years later SpaceX became the first private company to launch a spacecraft. In 2012, one of its unmanned rockets docked with the International Space Station. After this, management signed a contract with the US Air Force and NASA.

SpaceX is considered the most progressive and promising space carrier, while offering some of the lowest prices on the market for such services.

The path from idea to successful space production

The third most valuable startup in the world is a mobile application that allows you to send messages with attached photos and videos. Created by Evan Spiegel, Bobby Murphy and Frank Brown.

According to statistics, 200 million users of the application send 700 million messages daily. In general, during its existence, the company has raised more than $1 billion and continues to actively develop.

The head of the company, Evan Spiegel, is trying to make Snapchat a competitor to Facebook and Twitter. Most likely, he will succeed. An ambitious entrepreneur from the “golden youth” is confidently moving forward. The application content continues to be updated and improved, gradually adding new features.

Rapid growth, thoughtful, bold marketing and an audience under 30 are the key to Snapchat's success, which has allowed the company to become the third most capitalized startup in the world.

Evan Spiegel is the founder of Snapchat

Jibo

The creators of the first family robot, led by MIT professor Cynthia Breazeale, raised money for it using a crowdfunding platform. The project was so successful that in just a few days about 900 thousand dollars were received, although 100 thousand were required.

Now you can purchase an electronic friend for all family members and receive from him not only practical help in the form of necessary information, but also a couple of funny stories or anecdotes.

Jibo recognizes people and finds its own approach to everyone. He cannot move, but he can speak and show emotions. The first samples have already gone on sale. The creators of Jibo do not stop there; the design of the robot has already been improved with the investments that the project was able to attract.

Jibo - home robot has become a reality

One of the fastest growing internet startups of 2015, born in San Francisco.

The project was created as an online service for delivering food to private customers from nearby stores. The buyer selects all the necessary goods online from the lists of local supermarkets uploaded to the site, and receives his order by courier very quickly, within an hour.

Instacart is now available in several major cities USA and continues to capture the market, and the company's revenues have increased 15 times. The startup is developing rapidly, funds and private investors are confident in Instacart's success, although competition is growing noticeably every year. The project with enviable consistency attracts more and more hundreds of millions of dollars of investment (see Investments in startups: attraction, rules, important points). Total funding for the service over two years is about $150 million. Among investors successful startup represented by Sequoia, Khosla Ventures, Canaan Partners, Horowitz and many others.

Even going to the store can make you rich

Among the best startups in Russia and around the world are the most various projects. Some of them are created by one enthusiast, while others are developed by several thousand different specialists. Sometimes it takes a month or two from the idea to the finished product, and sometimes it takes years. Each project has its own secret of popularity and its own fascinating story of rise.

When youth, creative thinking and the desire to earn money come together, it’s time to think about creating a new idea that would be useful modern society. The main criteria for this are novelty, social significance, usefulness. The chosen idea should arouse interest, only then will it find a place under the “sun of the modern business world.”

What is a startup?

The term “start-up” itself is of English origin and is translated as the beginning of the process. Today, this concept defines projects at the initial stage of development.

This term was first used in the USA in 1939 during the development and discovery of innovative technologies. After that, this word migrated to other areas, the main thing is that the idea be new (regardless of the direction). For example, in Russia you cannot call it a startup. But Facebook, Google, Amazon - vivid examples, as they contain innovation and creativity. By the way, many well-known corporations that were presented as startups began their existence as small businesses.

Main differences and characteristics of startups

A startup is:

1. A new project that has just begun its development. There are no specific time parameters during which a business ceases to be considered a startup. But each of them has its own destiny - one grows into a powerful business, the other simply closes due to irrelevance.
2. Innovation of ideas;
3. Work in a new market segment, an unusual algorithm for conducting business and business processes;
4. Constant search for capital. No profitable enterprise will exist without financial influence, so the essence of a startup is to find an idea that would attract investors in 2016. The introduction and development of new ideas requires a lot of capital, so financial issues always come first during the development period;
5. Quick implementation of the chosen idea is one of the main conditions for a modern startup. Investors who have invested money in an innovative project will not wait forever, so they need results in a short time. Either the selected startup will begin to progress, receiving new sources of funding, or it will close just as quickly.

Is it possible to create a successful startup?

Examples of successful startups

A successful startup is not just a business plan with a specific algorithm of actions. The creators of such projects claim that this is a whole philosophy into which the soul of its creators is invested. Let's look at examples of the brightest startups.

Inscription on the sand - kind, reasonable, romantic

“A business devoid of human feelings and emotions is a dead business,” say the creators of the Sand Sign project. The essence of the idea is to create an Internet service that allows anyone to order an inscription in the sand on the beaches of Costa Rica or the Hawaiian Islands.

In order to use the service, you need to go to the website and specify the text that will be written on the coast (up to 30 characters), or make a sketch yourself, indicating all the design features. Within 10 days you will receive the desired inscription on the sand and its photo (or video). The cost of this service is 590 rubles per photo and 990 per video.

Those who are not interested in developing new ideas can start.

“Social alarm clock” – business in real time

Hrachik Adzhamyan (the developer of this startup) once overslept due to workload and did not receive a visa to Germany. A few months later, he overslept again and didn’t get his dream interview with Yandex. This situation prompted him to create his new useful service - a social alarm clock. The bottom line is that instead of an annoying call, to which most of us may not respond at all, an unknown person will call you asking you to wake up. According to the creators, this is the only way to wake up the most inveterate sleepyheads. You can use this service today for free. But those who want to use a social alarm clock every day can purchase a paid package in 2016, in which they can wake up with the voices of the stars or read out horoscopes, news, etc.

Startup "To Each Other"

The developers of this idea were graduates of St. Petersburg state university. Initially, the idea was that people leave their desires, and they choose the ones they like and bring them to life, giving joy to others. But it was impossible to cope with such a flow of desires, so the project was transformed, and registered users of the project themselves embody each other’s desires.

The project “To Each Other” is innovative and meets the modern realities of Russia. The essence of the idea is that you can not only make your dreams come true, but also help in finding someone who will make them come true. The initial capital required to implement such a business is $50 thousand.

“Life button” - helping loved ones

According to statistics, 30% of elderly people over 65 years of age fall at least once a year, some of them are not able to stand up on their own. The theme of supporting loved ones became the basis for the creation of the “Life Button” startup. This project combines a call center, website and software that helps monitor older people and help in difficult times.

How it works:

• instant signal reception at the call center if a company client is in trouble;
• calling an ambulance to the place where the signal was received;
• informing relatives about what happened;
• storage of information about diseases, allergies, medical assistance call histories.

“Life Button” is also a powerful monitoring system that helps determine a person’s location. Elderly people are the most vulnerable; they often get lost, may forget their address or be subject to robbery.

Now everyone can help their elderly relative if it is not possible to be with him constantly. The cost of such a service depends on the selected package and ranges from 200-1100 rubles per month.

“Super pot” - everyone is welcome to the table

The idea of ​​the “Super Cauldron” is simple and clear. Any person who has the potential and passion for cooking can cook their favorite dish, photograph it and post it on the company’s website super-marmite.com, describe the “culinary masterpiece.” After this, the cost and address where it can be purchased are indicated. All that remains is to wait for brave and hungry clients who are not against culinary experiments.

Stages of startup development

Each business project in Russia has its own path to development. If you don't know, you'll probably go with the standard methods.

Since a startup involves an innovative idea, the algorithm for implementing and developing a small business can be different and not always logical. But it is worth highlighting the overall development strategy, which consists of the following stages:

1. Creating an idea. At the first stage, the idea of ​​the product or service provided is formed, hypotheses are built about the significance for people, and ways of promotion.
2. Testing. The chosen direction is checked, the potential client base is analyzed, a presentation is created and a business plan is drawn up.
3. Search for an investor. A person who looks for profitable startups and directly provides capital to such new companies at an early stage of development is called a business angel. Your task is to present the project in such a way as to find interested people who will agree to finance the startup, for example, by providing the new kind.

After launching the project, the main task is to interest a potential buyer and promote your services or product. The main problem at the start is the lack of demand for the products. Therefore, at the very beginning, it is recommended to analyze the beneficial properties of the selected material, evaluate its availability and relevance.

Who can support a startup in Russia?

In 2016, all developed countries are allocating funds to support and develop startups, since each of them can create economic growth in the future. The most advanced country in this direction is the USA. It has a large number of business schools, technology parks, universities, and venture funds that are constantly “hunting” for new ideas and developing small businesses. Russia is a little behind in in this direction. But in 2016, a number of companies and associations can be identified that are interested in financing profitable projects:

• National Association of Business Angels. On their official website you can find a list of business angels (private investors) who are involved in the development of startups.
• National Community of Business Angels. Visit their website and read the recommendations of experts, apply for financing, and also become a participant in a business incubator (specialized programs for the development of small businesses).
• Skolkovo Investors Club;
• SOBA (National Commonwealth of Business Angels of St. Petersburg).

There are well-known private investors who are considering offers of cooperation with creative young people. These include Alexander Aivazov, Alexander Vashchenko, Andrei Golovin, Dmitry Maslenikov, Vadim Kulikov, Leonid Volkov, Mikhail Paulkin, Sergei Gribov and Sergei Zhukov.

When you contact one of the investors, be prepared to have 1 to 5 minutes to present your idea. As a rule, business angels are not interested in diagrams and graphs at the first meeting. Their task is to find out the essence of the project and evaluate its profitability. Therefore, they prepare a small presentation of 10 slides, a teaser (1 page description) and a financial plan.

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A startup is an innovative idea that becomes a great prospect for enterprising and resourceful people who do not have financial resources. The dynamic business sphere of Russia, like other countries, is oversaturated, it is dominated by the laws of fierce competition and constantly changing demand. This is why innovation and creativity are valued in 2016. A startup generates new directions, becomes socially significant for society, and most importantly, opens up horizons for ambitious businessmen. The key advantage is accessibility. You can find investors both in Russia and abroad. The main thing is to find a really profitable idea and build a competent plan for its promotion.

The international publishing project of the Rossiyskaya Gazeta, Russia Beyond The Headlines (RBTH), compiled the TOP-50 most ambitious Russian startups for 2015. This year the ranking features young Russian companies with potential for development abroad.

RBTH has been ranking new startups since 2012. The main goal of the project is to inform foreign investors and consumers about the potential and services of Russian technology companies. Traditionally, the ranking includes companies that would like to enter or are already entering foreign markets, and startups with Russian participation abroad.

The startups represented in the rating were selected according to the following criteria: the interest of foreign investors, the uniqueness of the idea, the demand of foreign consumers for the products and services offered, the potential for commercialization, as well as social significance, that is, the desire to improve people's lives through technology. The TOP 50 was made up of more than 200 Russian startups that met the requirements of the project authors.

The rating included the Russian-Ukrainian startup 2for1, aimed at the US market. The project was founded by businessman Alexey Romanenko, who lives in San Francisco. 2for1 is a service that brings together the best offers from the 15 most visited online stores in the US and Europe.

The application is designed for fashionistas and fashionistas from the middle class, who will be able to see products selected by the service with discounts of more than 50%. At the same time, 2for1 does not position itself as a retailer, calling itself a “filter” for customers.

Another participant in the rating was the technological project “3D Bioprinting Solutions”, which was founded by Chairman of the Board of Directors of INVITRO Group Alexander Ostrovsky and biologist Yusef Khesuani. The project is a biotechnology research laboratory that explores the topic of 3D organ bioprinting and creates its own products.

For example, 3D Bioprinting Solutions created the first Russian 3D bioprinter FABION - a hardware and software complex designed for printing living functional three-dimensional tissue and organ constructs.

The environmental project invites users around the world to monitor the air quality in their region of interest. A startup called AeroState uses simple Web API technology to do this.

The rating includes the AstroDigital project, a platform for accessing satellite data that provides fast and convenient search, as well as integration of satellite photos on the Internet and mobile applications.

Another participant in the rating is a service for yachtsmen or those who want to join this culture. In other words, with the help of the Anchor.Travel portal, anyone can rent a boat, motorboat or yacht, as well as offer someone their own water transport. The service works similarly to Airbnb and provides for direct communication between users and yacht owners.

Russian scientists have made a breakthrough in medicine by launching the AntionkoRAN-M project, a gene therapeutic antitumor drug intended for the treatment of head and neck cancer. According to the results of preclinical studies, the drug increases the effectiveness of radiation therapy by 63%.

Another medicine that took a place in the Rossiyskaya Gazeta rating is the drug Ivix, also known as female Viagra. Target drugs for women with sexual dysfunction. While Ivix is ​​at the testing stage, it has proven itself well in animals.

The TOP 50 included the Cardberry project, which will help people save space in their wallets. Engineers are working on an electronic card that can replace a whole stack of discount cards, synchronizing with the application of the same name via Bluetooth. The project has received 800 pre-orders for 2016 and is currently in the funding phase.

Contactless payment provider CardsMobile and British startup Tedipay have begun working on an open platform for secure transactions. Using the technology, it will be possible to make any payments, including payment for transport, lunch, etc. To do this, you only need a smartphone, which the authors of the idea call a “wallet.”

An online auction for selling cars called Caprice is an analogue of the foreign portals Webuyanycar, WirKaufenDeinAuto and Al wataneya. The creators of the domestic auction promise that using the service you can sell a car in half an hour.

In 2015, the Siberian startup raised $1.4 million to create the first batch of 3D pens called CreoPop. The pens contain a new photopolymer ink that hardens when exposed to ultraviolet light.

The rating included the CrocoTime project, a program for HR specialists that tracks up to 10 thousand users simultaneously. The service offers automatic employee monitoring for a fee ranging from $14 to $50.

Among the most ambitious startups is the Russian private space satellite manufacturer Dauria Aerospace. In 2015, the Chinese investment fund Cybernaut invested in the development of the project, which gave the company $70 million, with the ultimate goal of tracking the life of one of the largest cities in the world.

Institute of Catalysis named after. G.K. Boreskov SB RAS developed the EcoCat technology. The project helps reduce the cost of heating industrial premises by 4 times.

A project called Ecwid can change the e-commerce industry: it is a platform for creating online stores using AJAX, which allows you to develop a website for an online store for free in a few minutes.

Another member of Elbi is an application created by supermodel Natalia Vodianova. The mobile service allows you to send donations of £1 or $1 to charity organisations Worldwide.

The rating also included the Russian analogue of numerous instant messengers and social networks, FireChat; in 2015 the number of registered users exceeded 5 million. A new version allows users to exchange private messages and in group chats.

The Russian version of virtual reality from the company FIBRUM also attracted the attention of the authors of the rating. Engineers have created a headset in which the main element is not expensive materials, but an ordinary smartphone.

The list of best startups includes the IBOX project, an innovative solution that allows clients to accept cash and non-cash payments without cash register equipment and terminals.

iBuildApp

Intersoft Eurasia,

iBuildApp is a platform that allows businesses to create mobile apps for iOS and Android in minutes. This service already has 1.3 million users, including the US State Department.

One of the participants in the rating was the startup Intersoft Eurasia, which develops cross-platform devices for monitoring human radiation exposure. The company offers several options for devices and their integration: a compact device that is an addition to a mobile device, a processor built into the mobile phone circuit, and dosimeter watches.

Travel service Intui.Travel helps travelers book a hotel and find a transfer from the airport. Using the application, users can create a route to any location.

Cloud video surveillance service Ivideon designed to work with already installed cameras, including on personal computers and laptops.

Kribrum company has developed a social media monitoring system. The project is a tool for analyzing various mentions in the media. In 2015, the startup collected generous investments - more than $600 thousand. The system is aimed primarily at PR and marketing services.

Another participant in the rating is the visual image search system Kuznech, which allows you to track brands in a media stream, filter “adult” content, control offline merchandising, etc. The project supports video recognition and is adapted for smartphones.

The well-known project LinguaLeo, an online service for learning languages, also made it to the list of the best. Currently, there are about 12 million registered users on the portal who are learning English. The service is available to Russians, Brazil and residents of Turkey.

The Forest Watch project is a security system that allows you to prevent and monitor forest fires. The startup covers 33 regions of Russia and Bulgaria.

The Luka app provides recommendations for more than 2,000 restaurants in San Francisco. Using an SMS conversation, the service finds out whether you are a vegetarian or a cheese fan, and then provides a list of establishments that suit your tastes.

Startup Mailburn is upending business email standards with controversial templates. Almost 80% of the application's users work outside of Russia, and the majority of the audience comes from the United States.

One of the TOP-50 participants was the MarketMixe project - a platform for trading from supplier warehouses with individual data processing for online stores and online trading platforms. MarketMixer automatically processes supplier price lists and prepares a selection of goods for sending to the online storefront

The startup Nanosemantics is a developer of a natural programming language that should be used on websites in chats with its representatives. The main key of the project is the relaxed human language in which bots communicate with site visitors.

Optograd Nanotech company, which works on strengthening products. The technology of nanostructural modification of the surface of materials and alloys using a laser was recognized as one of the best startups.

The N-tech.lab project, created at the University of Washington, allows facial recognition, surpassing other systems in quality and speed.

Another payment system that will make life easier for users is PayQR. With this online banking and QR codes, you can make purchases in seconds.

A product that can replace architects and designers in the future is the Planner 5 D application. It allows you to design a house and interior even before construction begins, from walls to furniture.

The startup Prixel will give anyone the opportunity to become a collector of the most famous paintings for nominal money. To create paintings, the company uses 3D scanning technology, which allows you to create exact copies. Prixel already has clients in the US, Mexico, Europe, Canada, South Korea and other countries.

One of the most positive startups in the rating is the Panda Money service, which is essentially online banking. However, it differs from other projects by the presence of a small character - a panda, which is “fed” by user payments.

Promobot is a retail robot that can identify people's speech and recognize their appearance. In this way, the robot can help existing customers and find new ones.

The online cleaning service Qlean has attracted investments of more than $327 thousand, and the service plans to enter the Asian market.

Relap is a B2B service aimed at increasing the time visitors spend on a website. The system recommends them using built-in widgets. The creators of the project promise that they will be able to increase the number of clicks to 30-50%.

Startups have long been one of the main drivers modern economy. By the number of successful companies promoted from scratch, one can judge the level of development of the country’s business space. And although it is obvious that most startups valued at $1 billion are based in the United States, some successful companies operate in Europe and China. We bring to your attention the list. This is not really a ranking: all 40 startups can be considered winners by default.

40. Evernote, $1 billion

Evernote, a service and suite of software for creating and storing notes, is worth at least $1 billion. It entered the elite club of the most valuable startups in May 2012, when it was able to raise $70 million as part of a D-funding round. Since then, the company has raised $240 million. An interesting list of investors: Allen & Co., China Broadband Capital Partners, DoCoMo Capital, Harbor Pacific Capital, m8 Capital, Meritech Capital Partners, m8 Capital, Morgenthaler Ventures, Sequoia Capital, T. Rowe Price and Valiant Capital Partners.

39. Eventbrite, $1 billion

Eventbrite, a service for selling tickets and organizing marketing campaigns for ticket sales on social networks, entered the list just a month ago. The company recently managed to attract funding in the amount of $60 billion. After this, the entire startup, which, of course, does not yet trade shares on the stock exchange, was valued by experts at $1 billion. Eventbrite’s total funding currently stands at $197 million. Note that the company was founded quite a long time ago - in 2006, but at that time it was not able to quickly develop, because social media of the new generation were in their infancy. Facebook, for example, was just beginning its global expansion.

38. Nutanix, $1 billion

The first representative of cloud systems for business on our list. Nutanix provides cloud data storage to companies. The company managed to attract an impressive amount of funding, which currently amounts to $1 billion. But against the backdrop of fierce competition in this niche, experts estimate the total value of the startup at the same $1 billion.

37. Dianping.com, $2 billion

The first Chinese startup to reach the billionaire rating. The portal, which publishes reviews of restaurants, is valued at $1.8 or even $2 billion. During its existence, it managed to raise $164 million. According to insiders, last year Dianping.com rejected a takeover offer from Google China. In addition, it is known that the telecommunications company from the Middle Kingdom, Tencent, invested a large amount of money in Dianping.com earlier this year - the same $1.8 billion or $2 billion.

36. Beats Electronics, $1 billion

Rapper Dr. Dre and producer Jimmy Iovine created one of the most successful music startups, which is gradually developing new niches and turning into a full-fledged large company. Beats started with the production of headphones, proving to the whole world that “basyak rocks,” and then organized their own online music service where you can listen to any music, but it’s better, of course, to do it on Beats headphones. Beats Electronics has raised $560 million in funding and is worth about $1 billion.

35. Xunlei Network Technologies, $1 billion

Chinese peer-to-peer service Xunlei Network Technologies, which receives support from Internet giant Google, has become one of the world's largest new generation file sharing services. The company was founded in 2003, when the whole world was gradually switching to Soulseek, Bear Share and other first-generation peer-to-peer networks. But the Chinese decided to take an evolutionary path, which allowed them to survive the emergence of new types of peer-to-peer platforms, such as torrent trackers. Xunlei supports great amount protocols and also works with torrents. The startup managed to raise $111 million, and today the company is valued at $1 billion. Investors include Ceyuan Ventures, Fidelity Growth Partners Asia, Google, IDG Capital Partners, Morningside Group, Primavera Capital Group and RW Investments.

34. Good Technology, $1 billion

The American company Good Technology specializes in security systems for mobile devices. Its main clients are companies that want to protect internal data flows. The startup has already started acquiring smaller players and recently acquired BoxTone, expanding its list of capabilities in the field of mobile computing. In April, the company received funding in the amount of $50 million. And in total, it received $396 million from investors - this is since 1996. Now Good Technology is worth about $1 billion.

33. Coupons.com, $1 billion

Discount service Coupons.com recently filed for an IPO. The company helps stores attract customers by distributing discount coupons. Despite the fact that there are dozens of portals similar to Coupons.com in the world, the startup has attracted the attention of investors. In 2013, he received $115 million, which prompted the founders of a successful business to conduct an initial offering.

32. Pure Storage, $1 billion

Pure Storage offers a business-focused storage product that is different. We are talking about unique solid-state drives for corporate use, based on flash memory. Speeding up computer systems allows companies to reduce costs, which is why Pure Storage products sell very well. Since its founding in 2009, the startup has raised $245 million. Investors include Greylock Partners, Index Ventures, Redpoint Ventures, Samsung Venture Investment and Sutter Hill Ventures.

31. CloudFlare, $1 billion

CloudFlare is a system that allows you to speed up websites and protect them from external threats. This startup was liked not only by companies, but even by the authorities of some countries, including Türkiye. In December 2012, CloudFare raised $50 million in funding. The total funding amount is $72 million. Investors include Greenspring Associates, New Enterprise Associates, Pelion Venture Partners, Union Square Ventures and Venrock.

30. Tango, $1.1 billion

The free Tango messenger works in difficult conditions. Its competitors, such as WhatsApp and Viber, are much more popular and have already sold to larger players for billions (in the case of WhatsApp, tens of billions) of dollars. Nevertheless, Tango received funding from the Chinese Internet giant Alibaba in the amount of $250 million. Against this background, investors believe in the bright future of the startup. Experts estimate its value at $1.1 billion. Since 2009, Tango has received $367 million from investors.

29. LaShou Group, $1.1 billion

LaShou Group's Chinese service is thriving, not least because it is Chinese. This is another portal that provides discounts to customers, but its operating model, in which discounts are provided for a limited time, that is, constantly changing “offers of the day”, is completely copied from the American Groupon. The closedness of the Chinese market provided the LaShou Group with funding in the amount of $166 million and an estimated total value of $1.1 billion.

28. Gilt Groupe, $1 billion

Gilt Groupe is an American online store. The trading platform is used by 6 million people for a wide variety of goods. In order to buy something, you must register. In addition, the number of brands and the duration of the offers are limited. In 2011, the startup received additional funding in the amount of $138 million. Experts estimate the value of Gilt Groupe at $1.1 billion. Insiders claim that the company may hold an IPO this year.

27. Fab, $1.2 billion

Fab is an even more successful online trading platform. From 175 thousand participants in 2011, its audience has increased to 10 million, and the number of visitors per month reaches 6 million. The company managed to sell 7 million products, it already operates in three countries and in two languages ​​- English and German. The startup raised $335 million from investors. Among them are Andreessen Horowitz, Atomico, Baroda Ventures, Docomo Capital, First Round Capital, German Startups Group Berlin, ITOCHU, Mayfield Fund, Menlo Ventures, Phenomen Ventures, Pinnacle Ventures, RTP Ventures, ru-Net Ventures, SingTel Innov8, SoftTech VC, Tencent Holdings, VTB Capital, Washington Post, Zelkova Ventures, A-Grade Investments and SV Angel.

26. MongoDB, $1.2 billion

MongoDB provides its customers with the ability to create NoSQL databases. The startup's services are used by such large corporate players as the online store eBay, the insurer MetLife and the New York Times newspaper. MongoDB technology allows them to organize huge streams of data. Last year, MongoDB raised $150 million in funding, after which it was valued at $1.2 billion. In total, the startup received $231 million from investors and may soon hold an IPO.

25. Sogou, $1.2 billion

Sogou is a search engine about which almost nothing is known outside of China, but which is extremely popular in the Middle Kingdom. The site helps you find information of any type, and most importantly, it is able to identify pages that contain a potential threat and will not display them. Chinese users like these “clean” results so much that they have already found 10 billion pages using Sogou. As a result, Sogou's value today is estimated at $1.2 billion.

24. Deem, $1.4 billion

Software developed by Deem allows companies to estimate travel and other expenses. additional costs. Deem's services are used, in particular, by Coca-Cola, Goldman Sachs and Siemens. The startup is valued at $1.4 billion and has raised an impressive $424 million in funding. Investors include American Express, Charter Venture Capital, Citigroup, Empire Capital Partners, Foundation Capital, Jafco America Ventures, JPMorgan & Chase, Micro Cap Partners and Oak Investment Partners.

23. Mobileye, $1.5 billion

Mobileye cooperates with the world's leading automakers. Technologies developed by the startup help BMW, General Motors and other major players in the sector create safety systems that monitor and prevent accidents. The company was founded in 1998 and today is valued at $1.5 billion. Mobileye's funding volume is $487 million. Investors include such financial market sharks as BlackRock and Goldman Sachs.

22. Fanatics, $1.5 billion

The startup, which received the peculiar name Fanatics, was founded back in 1995. According to various estimates, it is worth from $1.5 billion to $3 billion, but there is no information about the second figure confirmed by authoritative sources. Fanatics provides licensed sports gear and other items for fans. Analysts are positive about the prospects in this niche, so we should expect Fanatics' business to grow this year. Interestingly, among the investors who have invested money in the company is the Chinese Alibaba Group.

21. Stripe, $1.8 billion

Stripe is a payment system that has challenged the famous PayPal. The ease of use of virtual terminals developed by Stripe, according to many experts, puts PayPal's dominant position in the market at risk. Last month, the startup raised $80 million, and its total funding over four years is $120 million. Against this backdrop, analysts valued the business at $1.8, which allowed it to become one of the youngest participants on our list.

19. Trendy Group, $2 billion

French clothing manufacturers are conquering China. The giant LVMH poured $200 million into the startup Trendy Group, which produces inexpensive clothes for the people of the Middle Kingdom. Having learned about this investment, experts valued Trendy Group's business at $2 billion. Note that Trendy Group itself was founded by a Chinese, but a large share of French people makes us believe that they can influence the company's strategy. The startup was founded in 1999. The Chinese clothing market is constantly evolving, so Trendy Group and LVMH were in the right place at the right time.

18. Box, $2 billion

Box is another cloud service provider primarily for enterprise customers. The system allows you to store data in the cloud and quickly share it. Box's business model is interesting. Personal accounts come with 50 gigabytes of free storage space, but the startup is pushing customers to purchase additional storage space. Moreover, even to get 50 gigabytes you have to download a special application developed for iOS. In December, Box raised $100 million in funding, after which it was valued at $2 billion. Insiders say the startup has filed for an IPO, but does not want to advertise it.

17. Wayfair, over $2 billion

The online home goods retailer, which specializes in furniture and decor, recently received $157 million in funding, valuing the startup at $2 billion. The Boston-based company, founded in 2002, has total funding to date of $358 million. Investors include Battery Ventures, Great Hill Partners, HarbourVest Partners and Spark Capital.

16. Woodman Labs, developer of GoPro cameras, $2.3 billion

One of the most famous startups on our list. Not everyone knows that the company was founded back in 2002. At first, the business grew slowly, but in recent years the market has appreciated the devices developed by the Californian company, which are excellent for shooting high-quality video in extreme conditions. GoPro reached $1 billion in revenue last year, and the startup is now planning an IPO in June or May. Investors include Foxconn, Riverwood Capital, Sageview Capital, Steamboat Ventures, USVP Management and Walden International.

15. Airbnb, $2.5 billion

Airbnb is a service that helps travelers and home owners who want to rent out their homes find each other. In 2012, the company received $200 million in funding and brought the total investment in its business to $526 million. Airbnb entered the top 40 back in 2011, when it managed to raise $112 million. Since then, its position has only strengthened. Insiders claim that after the new round of financing, the estimated value of the startup will increase to $10 billion.

14. Bloom Energy, $2.9 billion

The startup Bloom Energy produces solid oxide fuel cells, kits of which are called Bloom Box. These solutions are used in their energy systems by such giants as Wal-Mart, Federal Express and Coca-Cola. Each Bloom Box costs $750 thousand, and even at this price, customers are ready to buy innovative Bloom Energy products. But in just 10 years, the developers promise to reduce the cost of “Blooming Boxes” to $3 thousand.

13. Legendary Entertainment, $3 billion

Legendary Entertainment is a production company that worked with Warner Brothers on new series Batman movies. The startup was one of the first to risk joining forces with hedge funds to jointly finance film production. Legendary Entertainment's contract with Warner Brothers has been completed, and the company is now set to work with Universal Studios. The startup was founded in 2005.

12. VANCL, $3 billion

Another player in the Chinese clothing market: the online store VANCL was created in 2005, and already in 2011 it was valued at $3 billion. Initially, the site specialized in selling inexpensive clothing, but has recently entered into partnership agreements with luxury brands. The total amount of funding for its activities reached $472 million. Investors include Ceyuan Ventures, CITIC Private Equity Funds Management, F&H Fund Management, IDG Capital Partners, Kerry Group, Qiming Venture Partners, SAIF Partners, Temasek Holdings and Tiger Management.

11. Square, $3.3 billion

An unusual startup, Square, produces both software and payment terminals for corporate clients. One of the company's most famous partners is the coffee chain Starbucks, which, according to experts, can overtake McDonald's on the stock exchange. In 2012, Square received $200 million from investors. The total amount of funds raised is $345 million. Investors: Citi Ventures, Khosla Ventures, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Rizvi Traverse Management, Sequoia Capital, Starbucks, and Tiger Global Management.

10. Jawbone, $3.3 billion

Jawbone makes headphones and wireless speakers that can be connected to mobile devices. They are popular both among music lovers (because of the good sound quality) and among people involved in sports (because they are easy to use and do not interfere). Interestingly, Jawbone initially worked with the military to create noise-canceling technologies. But the startup’s developments were also useful in the broad consumer electronics market. As a result, the value of the business was estimated at $3.3 billion.

9. Uber, $3.8 billion

The Uber taxi search system operates in several dozen US cities. It is able to set prices in the market depending on supply and demand. In August, the startup received funding in the amount of $258 million, which brought the total amount of attracted investments to $405 million. Experts estimate the value of Uber at $3.8 billion. And this is not surprising, considering that in good weeks the company is capable of generating $20 million in revenue. Investors include Benchmark Capital, Bezos Expeditions, First Round Capital, Founder Collective, Goldman Sachs, Google Ventures, Jumpstart Capital, Lowercase Capital, Menlo Ventures and TPG Growth.

8. Pinterest, $3.8 billion

Pinterest is a portal that allows users to communicate by posting images in various thematic collections and “pinning” them to “boards” for discussion. The company made it onto the list of billionaire startups in May 2012 when it raised $100 million from a consortium of investors led by Rakuten. And after another round that brought in $225 million and closed in October 2013, Pinterest's valuation more than doubled from $1.5 billion to $3.8 billion.

7. Spotify, $4 billion

European member of our elite club. Swedish music streaming service Spotify has attracted 24 million “thank you” users and another 6 million for $10 a month. It is not surprising that a company with such impressive performance has already raised a total of $521 million from investors, including Coca-Cola and the well-known Digital Sky Technologies. The company was valued at $4 billion in its latest $250 million funding round, which closed last November.

6. SpaceX, $4.8 billion

Well, where are we without Elon Musk, one of the most famous and most controversial “start-ups”. The SpaceX company, whose goal is to conquer space no longer at the expense of the state but for purely commercial purposes, is now worth about $4.8 billion. At the same time, investors poured only $115 million into Elon Musk’s business. But he still promises to save America from the need to use Russian rockets and rocket engines. Moreover, this is one of the most modest promises. Many believe, because another Musk project, Tesla, is already bringing real profits.

5. Zalando, $4.9 billion

Another European player, this time from Germany. Online retailer Zalando sells clothing and other "stylish" products in 14 European countries. Initially, the company sold only shoes, but now even distributes branded magazines in which customers can find information about new products and discounts. The total investment in Zalando is only $49 million, but its estimated value is 100 times more!

4. Jingdong, $7.3 billion

And again to China: Jingdong, formerly known under the 360Buy brand, is one of the largest online stores in the Celestial Empire in terms of turnover value. Jingdong has been called the "Amazon of China" and is popular not only among shoppers but also among investors. The total amount of funding reached $2.2 billion, which allowed the company to be valued at $7.3 billion. Jingdong was founded in Beijing in 2004.

3. Palantir, $9 billion

“Palantir” is a device with which in Tolkien’s book “The Lord of the Rings” the main villain Sauron monitored his henchmen and gave orders. It’s also a great name for a startup that allows US intelligence agencies to spy on the population. Using Palantir technologies, the FBI and CIA filter information flows. The business is developing successfully: the startup has already raised $594 million, and its estimated value reached $9 billion back in September 2013.

The extremely popular cloud storage service Dropbox has already attracted more than 200 million active users. The next target is corporate clients. The founders of the startup once decided to challenge traditional email, which did not allow sending large files. They created a service that allows you to store content and instantly send it to anyone, regardless of the restrictions imposed by the email client. One of Dropbox's innovations: the user can create a special folder right on the desktop and drop files there that he wants to send to the Internet. Many cloud services have followed the example of Dropbox, but it remains the most popular. 200 million people actively use this system. The total amount of investments attracted by Dropbox is $507 million.

1. Xiaomi $10 billion

The Chinese gadget manufacturer Xiaomi has conquered its native market by setting record low prices for its devices without sacrificing quality. Last year, the company sold 18.7 million smartphones alone, and yet it has a wide range of consumer electronics and even proprietary applications. In the past, one of the top managers who led the development of Android, Hugo Barra, moved to Xiaomi and is now helping the Chinese player win back the global gadget market from its competitors. The volume of investments attracted by Xiaomi is $507 million against the background of the company's estimated value of $10 billion.

Today, startups are considered one of the indicators of economic development. The business space of each country is assessed in terms of the success of projects created from scratch. In addition, prudent investors themselves are actively looking for new areas for business, because they understand perfectly well that higher profits can be obtained where there is no fierce competition.

The main business trend today: shared consumption services are becoming increasingly popular. Today you can make a name for yourself in almost any area of ​​business, but to do this you need to offer a new and non-standard idea. That's exactly what the projects presented in this list did.

10. ThousandEyes

Price:$80 million

ThousandEyes is a cloud service for monitoring and analytical processing of large amounts of data. Such well-known technology companies as Evernote, Jive, Zynga recognized the timeliness of the project and the quality of its service by starting to cooperate with ThousandEyes.

Unlike many established business projects that made it to this list, ThousandEyes can be called a real startup. This is a promising project that continues to develop. ThousandEyes was founded by University of California programmers Ricardo Oliveira and Mohit Led. In 2014, after 4 years of the project’s existence, it began to rapidly gain momentum. After a number of venture funds led by Sequoia Capital became investors in the startup, the value of ThousandEyes increased 4 times.

The popularity and quality of the service is evidenced by the fact that even Twitter engineers use it to monitor the status of their cloud storage and servers.

9.Handy

Price: more than $100 million

Handy can also be called a full-fledged startup that works on the principle of sharing a service. This is a mobile application with which you can find a specialist to perform household tasks, from general cleaning to... overhaul. In just a year, the cost of the project doubled, but the startup suffered the problem of many other representatives of the sharing economy - non-compliance with legal requirements. But still, development opportunities and financial prospects attract the attention of the most powerful funds in Silicon Valley to the project.

8. Zenefits

Price:$650 million

The company is engaged in revolutionary “cloud” software designed for managing large teams. With the help of software from Zenefits, HR department managers have the opportunity to maintain electronic reporting on recruitment, wages, insurance, etc. In addition, the service provides access to this information from anywhere on the planet.

Zenefits was founded by businessman Parker Conrad in 2013. In just a year, the project has turned from an unknown startup into a rapidly growing business valued at $650 million. The company's investors include Andreessen Horowitz and other leading venture funds in Silicon Valley. Zenefits currently serves more than 2,000 enterprise clients.

7. AdRoll

Price: not disclosed

AdRoll is one of the most striking marketing projects of recent years. The startup is working on mobile retargeting, a service for tracking and analyzing consumer behavior across different platforms and devices from a marketing perspective. In 2014 alone, the company received $70 million in investments, and its shareholders are important venture funds, including the famous Accel Partners.

6.Lyft

Price: not disclosed

In April 2014, Lyft successfully raised $250 million in funding. This online taxi service is showing faster growth than its main competitor Uber. The company originated in San Francisco in 2013 and in just a year has expanded its operations to more than 30 US states. Of course, this attracted the attention of reputable investors. Alibaba, Third Point, Horowitz and Founders Fund - the list of Lyft shareholders is truly impressive. In the future, the company plans to penetrate the international market.

5. The Honest Company

Price: more than $1 billion

Hollywood actress Jessica Alba decided to create her own company in 2011 to produce environmentally friendly children's hygiene products and cosmetics. Over the course of 4 years, the project has become very popular among its target audience - young mothers. Jessica Alba plays a very important role in the marketing plan: she is the face of the brand, she constantly uses her products and always takes the time to communicate with customers.

The Honest Company has leveraged over $120 million in investments. At the same time, the company is highly valued in Silicon Valley: it is funded by Iconiq Capital, Lightspeed Venture Partners and others.

4. NJOY

Price: more than $1 billion

In 2014, the e-cigarette company, which has a 30% share of the US market, held a third round of negotiations with well-known funds and businessmen, after which it managed to raise $70 million. NJOY's investors include billionaire Peter Thiel, former Facebook President Sean Parker, Morgan Stanley and Brookside Capital. The company has been operating since 2006 and its development is facilitated by the global tightening of anti-tobacco laws. The e-cigarette market today in the United States alone is estimated at approximately $2 billion.

The uniqueness of the NJOY project is created thanks to a large selection of virtual tobacco flavors. Fans of the company also praise the unique design of the cigarette, because even non-smokers don’t want to let it go. The startup’s authors themselves speak very simply about their main idea: “To put an end to burning cigarettes once and for all.”

3. Pure Storage

Price:$4 billion

Data analysis and storage is one of the key areas in the development of IT technologies. Well-thought-out projects are in high demand in this area and investors' attention is not focused only on the well-known Dropbox. Therefore, it is natural that the Pure Storage service, serving corporate clients, almost doubled its value in 2014 alone.

The company was founded by John Hayes, John Colgrove and Scott Dietzen. Pure Storage produces stationary flash drives with capacities up to 250 terabytes. In fact, this is a flash drive with installed software that can be connected to a cloud data storage and thereby speed up the operation of virtual servers. The Wall Street Journal gave the development the title “Innovation of the Year,” and the project’s partners included such powerful investment funds as Greylock Partners, T. Rowe Price Associates and Tiger Global.

2. Airbnb

Price: more than $10 billion

This is a project that even those who are not interested in business have heard about. Airbnb is a fast and convenient service through which tourists can rent housing directly from the owners, without contacting various agencies.

In 2014 alone, the project attracted $500 million in funding, after which its value increased to $10 billion. The company's founders, Brian Chesky, Nathan Blecharzik and Joe Gebbia, immediately achieved billionaire status.

Airbnb is considered a leader in the sharing economy market. The service includes 1.5 million real estate properties in 190 countries. Since the company's existence, more than 11 million people have used its services.

1. Uber

Price:$40 billion

The online taxi calling service Uber belongs to startups only according to formal criteria. Despite the fact that the company is only six years old and has not yet become public, Uber has long turned into a serious business, which at the end of 2014 received $2 billion in investments. The company's weekly revenue is about $20 million, and its founder Travis Kalanick has been in various rankings of the world's richest people for several years.

Uber is hated by traditional taxi services, but loved by its customers. The service allows passengers to independently find available drivers and pay them online. The company's capabilities are not limited to taxi services. Uber plans to enter other markets where sophisticated logistics play a major role - grocery delivery, courier transportation, postal services, etc.